Waterford man, who returned after quarrel, jailed for fatal stabbing

A Waterford, St Michael man convicted of fatally stabbing another after returning to the scene of an earlier altercation will spend nearly 36 more years behind bars at Dodds Prison.

Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell gave Ramon Akeem Doyle, of Leinster Road, Waterford, St Michael, a 40-year starting sentence for murdering Victor Watson, formerly of Lower Deacons Road, on December 3, 2021. Doyle had denied the charge and was convicted by a 12-member jury following his trial. After his 1 586 days on remand were deducted, he has 35 years and 239 days left to serve.

Justice Smith-Bovell said: “Murder represents the ultimate violation of human rights—the deprivation of life. Law and society demand a penalty that reflects this absolute severity. The legal system must visibly uphold the rule of law to prevent vigilantism and maintain law and order as well as public trust in the judicial system. A custodial sentence is the only proportionate response to the intentional taking of a life, and there is no doubt from the facts in this case that a custodial sentence is merited.”  

During the trial, the No. 4 Supreme Court heard that the deceased was liming under a shed on a block in Goddings Road, Station Hill, St Michael, when Doyle came onto the block with two females, one of whom got into an argument with Watson over money she owed. The deceased told her that Doyle had no right to be on the block, as he did not know the convicted man. This led to a quarrel between the two men, which was broken up by another person, and both Doyle and Watson left the block, with the latter returning to sit under a shed with others.

Doyle later returned to the block and, without any further interaction between them, approached Watson and began stabbing him with a knife, the court heard.

Witnesses indicated that the two struggled and the deceased appeared to be trying to defend himself before managing to get away, as other persons in the area attempted to intervene and disarm Doyle. They too were attacked by the convicted man, who made stabbing motions at them before he was eventually struck in the head with a car part, disarmed and subsequently beaten by some men from the area, the court heard.

Watson was taken to the hospital by private car, where he later died.

Doyle was also taken for treatment of the injuries sustained during the beating after the stabbing, and several of the witnesses in the case were charged with inflicting injuries on him.

“This death ought not to have occurred,” Justice Smith-Bovell said. “There was no reason for the now-convicted man to return to that area as his female friend was no longer there. Enough time had elapsed between the disagreement for a cooling-off period between the initial argument and when the now-convicted man returned to the area and walked up to the deceased, who was sitting, and started stabbing him without any words exchanged or any form of provocation. His actions were a deliberate act on his part and seem to bear out what his brother said when he stated that the now-convicted man acts without thinking things through.”

She found aggravating the loss of life, the use of a knife, the element of premeditation as Doyle returned to the area with a knife, that the attack was unprovoked, that the convicted man also attacked members of the community who tried to assist the deceased, and the impact of the offence on the family of the deceased.

The judge said: “It appears to the court that you have a serious challenge in controlling your anger and regulating your emotions, which was evident from your childhood, and this factor poses a threat to members of the public. Having considered the facts and circumstances of this case, together with the aggravating and mitigating factors of the offence and the psychologist’s report, I am of the view that your threat and danger to society, while not reaching a level that would require a whole life sentence, still requires a long custodial sentence, and I find that the appropriate starting point for this offence is 40 years.”  

The court took note of his previous convictions, one of which was for assault, his drug use, a medium to high risk of reoffending and a poor pre-sentence report.

“All your violent interactions you have sought to justify and rationalise as you being the victim and acting in self-defence or preventing others from being taken advantage of. Your criminogenic risk factors are significant,” she said, noting that Doyle maintained his innocence.

No further adjustment was made to the starting sentence.

Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale SC, Principal State Counsel Rudolph Burnett and State Counsel Paul Prescod prosecuted the case, while Senior Counsel Angella Mitchell-Gittens represented the convicted man.

(JB)